Talespin: The police commissioner, politics and the PBA

By James V. Franco

Monday, December 3, 2012

While Mayor Lou Rosamilia said he has not yet made a decision, every indication is that former Assistant Chief Tony Magnetto will become Troy's next police commissioner for $30,000 and he will run the department instead of Police Chief John Tedesco.

I have nothing against Magnetto -- actually I think he's a gentleman who had a distinguished career as a Troy cop and the city is much better off because of that career -- but despite what the Council and Rosamilia say, this move is all about politics and the Police Benevolent Association. But, to set aside cynicism for a moment, it's also about newly elected officials getting their guy in there too. It is their prerogative. As I've written before, to the victor goes the spoils.

I'll start with the PBA. When Chief Nick Kaiser abruptly retired, there were three up for the job: Tedesco, Magnetto and Deputy Chief Richard McAvoy. Then-Mayor Harry Tutunjian picked Tedesco, who was the last person the PBA wanted. I think it would have been satisfied with McAvoy but it really wanted Magnetto because he is sympathetic to the union - his father founded the PBA.

Tedesco, as per Tutunjian directive, started shaking up the old and tired ways of doing things and that means re-organizing specialty squads like the Emergency Response Team and Special Operations Section and the School Resource Officers - three divisions where officers made a ton of overtime but really didn't come back with a bunch of results to justify the expense (with the possible exception of the SROs but not how it was being run at the time.) Cops love their overtime and Tedesco and his policies cut it by about $1 million. Obviously, the PBA didn't like that much. Tedesco was also going after the seniority clause, something the union holds sacred and something that hamstrings the chief's ability to assign officers where he wants them assigned. Instead everything is based on seniority.

The PBA knew it was coming and right out of the gate and accused Tutunjian of picking Tedesco because he squashed a drug investigation into employees of City Hall. An absurd allegation but the stage was set. The battle was on.

Enter Rosamilia and a bunch of new Democrats on the Council, thanks in part to the political support of the PBA. And never let it be said the PBA doesn't expect something in return so this is, in part, political payback.

I sat down with Tedesco last week and he was honest, forthright and in no uncertain terms took exception to having a boss in addition to the mayor. He's been around nearly 37 years so he knows how the game is played and he knows he answers to the mayor, whoever it is or of whatever party. But, if that were truly the case, then I don't think Rosamilia, who is no dummy and from what I can tell a pretty rationale guy, would not feel the need to hire a commissioner. That's the flip side things.

Tedesco said the Rosamilia people hamstrung him every step of the way and he wasn't even allowed to sit in on contract negotiations. Despite the mayor and the Council having the God given right -- via winning an election -- to pick who they want, that fact alone tells me the PBA is running the show.

And no, Rosamilia can't just fire him without cause because the chief's job is Civil Service protected and as far as I can tell there is no cause. Yes, it was a tough summer in the city as far as crime goes, but it violent crime is cyclical and one bad summer is not indicative of the chief doing a bad job.

To the politics of the whole thing, there are those on the Council Tedesco specifically pointed out who are the driving forces behind the police commissioner: Councilwomen Nina Nichols, Councilman Kevin McGrath and Council President Lynn Kopka.

Here's why I think the three are bowing down to PBA President Bob Fitzgerald. Nichols, a minister who is head of the Public Safety Committee and is in her first term on the council, has political ambitions and was the driving force behind getting a police commissioner. Tedesco said more than once the others are "scared" of her. McGrath will probably be in a primary next year after the battle he got into with County Chair Tom Wade over the city marshal position. And Kopka is trying to bring some semblance of peace to what is an otherwise fractured Council.

The other four Democrats followed behind.

All that said, I can't blame Rosamilia for doing what he did. The PBA is upset with Tedesco. There are residents understandably upset with the spate in violent crime. And there are residents upset with claims of excessive police brutality, headed up by the Rev. Willie Bacote - which I am not sure is true or not. By hiring a public safety commissioner the mayor puts out a bunch of fires -- at least temporarily -- and makes a bunch of friends in the process. It may not be the strongest position to take, but he is the mayor and in the end he wants his guy in there and so does the Council. It is their prerogative.

To the victor goes the spoils and they get to call the shots.

In the end most, I think, most cops just put on their uniform every day, care about the city and are doing a good job in what is an honorable profession. They really don't care too much about what is going on in City Hall or if there is a public safety commissioner or not.

Thankfully, that is the bottom line.

This week's Talespin was written by James V. Franco. He can be reached at 478-5343